THE ROCC & recovery community

Lose a Mentor for the Second Time in Three Months

By Bridget Bauer

Within a span of three months, the recovery community and The Recovery Outreach Community Center (ROCC) has lost two important people who offered their help, expertise and advice to help recovering addicts.

In April, Carl Perkins, who was a program manager and licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) at ASCENT Recovery Residences and the ROCC, lost his battle with cancer. On July 8, 2023, Jeff NcNabb, 54, died after suffering a stroke July 4. McNabb was pertinent to Joplin and Springfield as an employee and mentor with New Beginnings Sanctuary, an organization that provides housing and services for recovering addicts. The organization has 23 homes in Springfield, Joplin and Kansas City.

Struggling with alcohol, McNabb achieved sobriety in 2018. His obituary said the key to sobriety was when he decided he wanted it for himself and not because others wanted it for him. Once he obtained sobriety, he wanted to help lead others to the same victory.

Cheri Bebe, a certified peer specialist at the ROCC, met NcNabb when she started working there about a year ago. The two became good friends, and he was a great support to her.

“He not only saved people’s lives when he was alive but also in death as an organ donor,” she said. “He was very encouraging with open arms. I never saw him judge anyone, and he would give the shirt off his back for anyone.”

Bebe also said McNabb’s sobriety inspired her in her own journey. When life situations arose to make the journey harder, he would explain his story to Bebe, encourage her and talk through things with her. He reminded her she was still in recovery and would get through the obstacles.

For Teddy Steen, executive director of ASCENT, losing two mentors and advocates in a short period of time has been devastating. Not only did McNabb mentor at the ROCC, but New Beginnings Sanctuary with McNabb involved had a class at the ROCC on Thursday nights. McNabb came to the ROCC right after it opened, and Perkins and McNabb became close friends.

“Three months apart, and we’ve lost two very valuable, wise people in the recovery community,” Steen said. “They were both highly intelligent and wise. You couldn’t stir Jeff. He was so calm and collected and a great, great guy.”

McNabb also helped in the prisons and spread the word about New Beginnings. Steen also said he was a talented musician, was so thoughtful and conscious of others’ feelings.

“He was well-rounded,” she added. “Jeff also had the same chair he sat in every day at the ROCC, and it will always be Jeff’s chair.”